There is a new generation of proximity devices emerging that allow an application on a mobile device to interact with the proximity device to determine that the mobile device and a specific application running on the mobile device is at a specific physical location. These types of proximity devices are referred to as a Proximity Location Device (PLD). Near-Field Communication (NFC) tags and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are examples of devices that can be utilizes as a PLD.
A BLE beacon broadcasts a model identifier—usually in the form of a Universally-Unique Identifier (UUID)—having a Major.minor identifier. The application on the mobile device is registered against the UUID and is automatically awoken when it receives the broadcast request and can then determine the user experience by using the Major.minor identifier. Often the Major represents the location (e.g. supermarket in downtown Washington) and the minor a specific sub-location (e.g. electronics section/aisle).
Service Providers are currently investing money to install a network of beacons. Once installed, the beacons are connected to a service platform which allows the Service Provider to offer location-based services to users (e.g., a location-based service can be offered to the supermarket).
A problem encountered by some Service Providers is that the broadcast information of the beacon is freely available and readable to anyone that is in the vicinity of the beacon. In fact, ‘Beacon maps’ are being developed and deployed that link physical location coordinates and Beacon identifiers. These ‘Beacon maps’ are being published on the Internet and other uncontrolled and untrusted outlets.
The uncontrolled distribution of ‘Beacon maps’ allow other Service Providers to create a service platform that effectively piggy-backs on beacons deployed by other Service Providers for free. With the threat of having their deployed PLDs hijacked, some Service Providers are hesitant to invest in installing a large base of PLDs.